Thursday, July 12, 2012

A&P students should be aware of the basic
elements of protein folding:

Your textbook describes how the primary structure (a sequence of amino acids determined by the genetic code) is folded into a twisted and pleated secondary structure, then folded again into a complex tertiary structure. Sometimes, tertiary proteins are combined to form quaternary proteins. Sort of like origami, but way more useful. And way tinier.

I'd like to mention a
interesting phenomenon related to protein folding and "citizen science"
using an online game called Foldit.

The
Foldit game is an online puzzle game in which anybody can try their
hand and finding which way a given protein folds most efficiently.
Interestingly, this has proven to yield useful results for biochemists
not obtainable by traditional methods.

If you like video games . . . and the idea of actually contributing to scientific knowledge intrigues you . . . why not try your hand at Foldit?

Want to know more?

Online Gamers Achieve First Crowd-Sourced Redesign of Protein
Jessica Marshall &amp; Nature magazineScientific American Online January 22, 2012
[Brief article about recent redesign of a protein by online gamers using Foldit. Original paper published in Nature Biotechnology] my-ap.us/wRK2bV

Foldit Online Protein PuzzleScientific American Citizen Science accessed 23 January 2012
[Brief description of the online game Foldit and the goals of the project.]my-ap.us/zIV75F

Foldit - Solve Puzzles for Science
[Direct link to portal for the game Foldit]my-ap.us/wfRQPF

About Me

I've worked as an anatomy & physiology professor for several decades, having taught at high school, community college, and university levels. I write A&P textbooks and manuals. I am a President Emeritus of the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS) and a founder of HAPS Institute, a continuing education program for A&P professors. I have several blogs and websites related to teaching and learning. And in my youth I was a wild animal trainer.